Best Crêpes in Chicago

CRÊPES: Leave it to the French to perfect a food that can never be too thin or too rich

By Penny Pollack

Published June 23, 2010

Galicians have filloas, Russians prize their blini, the Dutch eat pannenkoeken, and the Chinese get credit for moo shu, but where paper-thin pancakes are concerned, crêpes rule. These French imports have been around Chicago for decades—the Magic Pan chain soared in the 1970s—yet never reached mainstream status here. Until today, when everyone and his frère has a crêpe maker and the range of fillings rivals pizza toppings. You can try a smoked-salmon crêpe at Crêpe Crave in Wicker Park, chicken pesto at Crêpe Town in Lake View, or one filled with gelato at La Boulangerie, a bakery/crêperie scheduled to open mid-June in Logan Square. Our favorites are at La France Café & Crêpes(939 S. Main St., Lombard; 630-613-9511), where you can breakfast on a galette (an open-faced crêpe) of poached eggs over hollandaise, try a wild-mushroom crêpe for lunch or dinner, and indulge in melted Brie and apricots wrapped in a whipped-cream–topped whole-wheat crêpe morning, noon, or night.